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BASF to expand capacity for methane sulphonic acid at German site

BASF to expand capacity for methane sulphonic acid at German site

Chemical Weekly2019-01-07

BASF is planning to expand the production capacity for methane sulphonic acid (MSA) at its Ludwigshafen (Germany) site by around 65% and increase the global capacity to 50,000-tpa. The volumes from the additional capacity are expected to be available late in 2021 for customers in all regions.

“The demand for MSA increased strongly across industries. This expansion will allow us to support the rapid growth of our customers, especially in Asia. Beyond the increase in Ludwigshafen, we evaluate investment options outside of Europe to continuously expand our MSA capacities,” said Mr. Martin Widmann, Global Strategic Marketing and Development, Care Chemicals division at BASF.

Sustainable alternative to conventional acids

MSA is a strong organic acid used in numerous applications ranging from chemical and biofuel synthesis to industrial cleaning and metal surface treatment in the electronics industry. It is a sustainable alternative to other acids such as sulphuric, phosphoric or acetic acid. As part of the natural sulphur cycle MSA is readily biodegradable. Further benefits in practical applications come, for example, from its nonoxidising nature, the high solubility of its salts and the absence of colour and odour.